Love is the fulfillment of the law
Romans 13:8-10 If you’re neglecting the Biblical counsel to “love your neighbor”, you’re disobeying God.
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“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Romans 13:8-10 NASB1995
The admonition to “love thy neighbor” is scattered throughout the Bible:
Leviticus 19:18 - “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”
Matthew 22:39 - “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Galatians 5:14 - “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
James 2:8 - “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.”
So why is it that everyone seems on this planet seems to be so filled with hate for each other? There are probably an infinite number of answers to that question: not everyone has read the Bible, so they aren’t aware of the divine law; maybe they’re unsure who their “neighbor” is. Perhaps the answer is that humanity is overflowing with sin, making us incapable of loving our neighbor. Regardless of the excuses we have for hating others, God is commanding us to love them!
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul is repeating Jesus’ words found in Matthew 22:36-40:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Who is “our neighbor”? Is it the guy who lives next door who does a lot of small things to annoy you? No. It’s everyone and anyone you meet with or deal with every day, in your house or outside of it, and in our connected world, it means people you deal with online as well.
That means being respectful and courteous, kind, even friendly, to everyone you meet, all the time. Thanking the server and bus person at the restaurant for their service, even when they seem to be “mailing it in”? Yes. Not making an obscene gesture at the person who just cut you off in their car and almost caused an accident? Yes. Fulfilling your promise to do something for a co-worker, friend, or organization? Yes. Not rising to the bait on Facebook or X when someone calls out Christians as “bigoted hypocrites”? Yes.
Loving your neighbor means doing all of these things, and an infinite number more! It’s no wonder that it is such a seemingly impossible commandment to follow. What’s even more difficult is that this is an ongoing, lifelong commitment. As the Australian theologian Leon Morris said,
We may pay our taxes and be quiet. We may give respect and honor where they are due and have no further obligation. But we can never say, ‘I have done all the loving I need to do.’ Love then is a permanent obligation, a debt impossible to discharge.1
People may think that “if I’m a good person to my family, then I’m fulfilling this commandment”. I like what the 19th Century “Prince of Preachers” Charles H. Spurgeon said of this attempt to skirt the law:
“No man can compass the ends of life by drawing a little line around himself upon the ground. No man can fulfill his calling as a Christian by seeking the welfare of his wife and family only, for these are only a sort of greater self.”2
Finally, one might think that fulfilling other religious obligations means that you can slip a bit in the area of loving thy neighbor. You can tithe and even give more to your church, support and serve charities, spend time doing volunteer work for the church, even write daily devotionals! But if you’re neglecting the Biblical counsel to “love your neighbor”, you’re disobeying God.
We’re never going to be perfect, but making an earnest attempt each and every day to love our neighbor can go a long way toward fulfilling God’s law.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
God, I thank You for being the Creator of all that exists — including love. Keep helping me to do Your will here on earth, and may I learn to love as Christ loves. I pray that You continue to remind me to do no wrong — whether in thought, word, or action — to others I meet each and every day. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Morris, Leon "The Epistle to the Romans" (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1988)
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)